In The News

Legislation is being introduced to end driver's license suspensions for people convicted of a non-vehicle related crimes. Currently, charges including theft, purchase of alcohol and tobacco as a minor, carrying a false identification card and drug possession can result in a license suspension that can last several years after a prison sentence is carried out.

Kristen Maser Michaels and Gisele Fetterman of For Good PGH have teamed up to launch a female-focused business incubator and coworking space in the heart of Braddock: the Hollander.

The small concrete-block building in New Kensington is plain and sturdy. It has no architectural character or charm, except for the “catio,” a screened porch where several cats nap or play as they enjoy fresh air and sunshine.

The diagnosis of ovarian cancer came 11 years ago, when Julie McMullen was 27 and had a daughter in first grade. “It was scary for everybody,” said McMullen, 38, of Sewickley Heights. “The doubts do take over and you have to stay strong.”

The Sharpsburg Police Department is seeking support for its K-9 program that is expected to begin in April. Members are selling sweatshirts and T-shirts through Oct. 23, with proceeds to benefit the K-9 fund. “Sharpsburg K-9 Proud” merchandise costs between $15 and $31. Officer Jeff Hussar said the department needs to sell at least 100 shirts to get the shirts printed and delivered by early November.

At age 17, Doug Strott was an athlete who threw the javelin for his high school track team. But he struggled to get through his training exercises. When an orthopedic specialist diagnosed him with Scheuermann’s Disease, few people had heard of the degenerative spinal condition that causes an abnormally curved back and severe, chronic pain. Almost four decades after his diagnosis, the debilitating illness is still largely unknown.

One Puerto Rican doctor is asking for 40 batteries to power lanterns positioned around his MRI machine. Centro Medico, one of the largest hospitals in San Juan, has been running on generators but needs a major resupply — everything from exam gloves, gauze and alcohol swabs to ventilators, oxygen tanks and catheters. Rosana Guernica, a 22-year-old Carnegie Mellon University student from Puerto Rico, is eager to help. She has been communicating daily with physicians, family and friends on the hurricane-ravaged island.

On 30 September 2017 in Merida, Mexico, Barotse activist Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe will present her artistic project "Wade in the Water" for the first time. In what she describes as a "hybrid multi-generational archival encounter", the artistic producing director of Global Posse productions will pay tribute to her great grandfather King Lewanika of Barotseland, using photographs, a documentary, music and performances. This project will explore both her indigenous Barotse and her western identities.

Save Our Symphony Pittsburgh will team with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestrafor a benefit concert at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Rodef Shalom Temple in Shadyside. The program, which includes selections from Bolling's Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano, Dohnanyi's Rualia Hungarica and Vivaldi's Concerto No. 1 (Spring), features Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians Lorna McGhee, Jennifer Orchard, Jeffrey Grubbs, Andrew Reimer and Marylene Gringas-Roy.

New Kensington's most recent push to tear down blighted buildings couldn't come at a better time, business owner Mary Bode said. Bode and her husband, Kevin, own the 7-month-old Knead Community Cafe in the city's downtown — a mix of businesses, vacant buildings and occasional grassy spaces where structures once stood.